ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No author writes a book of nonfiction without help, but this book depended on the work of others far more than most. Certainly it could not have been written without the extraordinary reporting that has appeared in the New York Times since September 11, and, indeed, before that date. Dozens of reporters and foreign correspondents have written articles that I drew on in putting this narrative of September 11 together, and it would be impossible to list them all. But I do want to mention several of those whose work has been indispensable.

Jonathan Landman, Ann Cronin, and others on the Times Metro Desk have been enthusiastic in their support from the beginning. James Dwyer’s reporting on the New York City Fire Department, and his many stories on the events of September 11 itself, have been amply absorbed into this book, and I have come to a deep appreciation of his brilliance both as a newsman and as a colleague. Among the others who covered September 11 in New York and whose work has been important in the writing of this book are: Kevin Flynn, Eric Lipton, James Glanz, Nina Bernstein, Matthew L. Wald, N. R. Kleinfeld, Mary Williams Walsh, Mireya Navarro, Jane Gross, and Amy Waldman.

Reporters in the Times’s Washington Bureau, in particular David Johnston, Don Van Natta, Kate Zernicke, James Risen, Benjamin Weiser, Philip Shenon, Neil A. Lewis, and David Sanger wrote stories on the investigation into the plot. Judith Miller and Steven Engelberg contributed to that reporting, and they also did investigations of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda that preceded September 11 by many months; much of the material in this book on the background to anti-American terrorism is based on their work. Several of the Times’s correspondents reporting from abroad contributed immeasurably, among them: David Rohde, C. J. Chivers, Raymond Bonner, Steven Erlanger, Chris Hedges, Douglas Frantz, John Tagliabue, Douglas Jehl, Susan Sachs, Patrick Tyler, Donald G. McNeil, Jr., and Neal MacFarquhar.

I hope I haven’t forgotten anybody; my apologies if I have.

I want also to acknowledge several others. Kaya Laterman, my research assistant, was cheerful and indefatigable in her pursuit of answers to the infinite questions I asked, and she did much of the interviewing that went into the portraits of victims included in this book. Seth Solomonow helped enormously, pointing the way to useful sources and helping with interviews. David Sobel, the editorial director of the Times Books imprint at Henry Holt, has made numerous very useful suggestions and has been gracious and steadfast throughout. Without the inspiration and support of Mitchel Levitas, the head of the Times Books Development Office, this project would never have gotten started, much less finished.

Where the information in this book comes from reporting in the Times, or from the additional reporting of myself, Kaya Laterman, and Seth Solomonow, no source information is provided. There are many important instances where I have drawn on the fine reporting that has appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers other than the Times, and those instances are indicated in endnotes.

As always, those who helped deserve only gratitude. Any mistakes of fact or judgment in this book are solely my responsibility.